Tobey Maguire’s ‘Spider-Man’ movies returning to theaters

Webheds, your time has come. The original Spider-Man trilogy, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire, is swinging back to theaters for a special run beginning on Sept. 26.

The event — officially titled “Fathom Fan Favorites: Spider-Man Trilogy” — comes thanks to a collaboration between Fathom Fan Favorites, a theatrical engagement presented by Fathom Entertainment, and Sony Pictures. The theatrical event will feature Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), with Spider-Man 2.1 making its debut in theaters for the first time ever.

For those who don’t know, Spider-Man 2.1 is the extended cut version in 4K of Spider-Man 2, which will include new and extended scenes.

“The success of Spider-Man in 2002 helped launch the modern era of super hero films. To this day, Tobey Maguire’s take on Spider-Man resonates across generations,” said Ray Nutt, Fathom Entertainment’s chief executive officer in a press release. “At Fathom Entertainment, we celebrate fandom and I am delighted that Spider-Man 2.1 in 4K will make its theatrical debut, a true gift for longtime fans and a thrilling discovery for new ones.”

The engagement begins on Sept. 26 with screenings of Spider-Man, followed by Spider-Man 2.1 on Sept. 27 and Spider-Man 3 on Sept. 28. An encore presentation comes the following weekend, with the trilogy entries respectively playing on Oct. 3, Oct. 4, and Oct. 5.

Tickets will be available on July 25 at Fathom Entertainment and participating theatre box offices.

Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy previously had a limited theatrical engagement at Cinemark locations in April 2024 as part of a re-release of Sony’s entire live-action Spider-Man franchise. Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man duo and Tom Holland’s three Marvel Cinematic Universe installments followed in the weeks after.

When it hit theaters in 2002, Spider-Man dazzled audiences with its mix of action, romance, and special effects that made us feel like we were the ones web-swinging through New York. 

The blockbuster starred Maguire as a nerdy Peter Parker, who’s bitten by a radioactive spider and transformed into Marvel’s most angst-ridden hero. With a supporting cast including Kirsten Dunst as Peter’s love interest Mary Jane, James Franco as his best friend Harry, and Willem Dafoe as the sinister Green Goblin, Spider-Man proved a superhero film could stay true to the spirit of the original comics and still resonate with modern audiences.

Raimi spoke with Entertainment Weekly about Maguire’s casting in 2002: “The strength of Spider-Man is that Peter is a character we identify with as a normal middle-class kid. We needed someone who was completely vulnerable and lived with a certain amount of doubt and angst. And Tobey was so grounded and subtle, I simply believed him.”

The Spider-Man trilogy turned Maguire into a global star, though his work outside the franchise became more sporadic. Over the last decade, the actor was largely out of the spotlight before he made a celebrated return to the Spidey suit in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).

No Way Home — which shattered pandemic box office records and became the biggest film of 2021 — brought Spider-Man characters from all three universes into the MCU through a multiverse-shattering spell, uniting Holland’s Peter Parker with Garfield and Maguire’s past cinematic iterations of Spider-Man, as well as reintroducing villains from their movies, like Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Jamie Foxx’s Electro.

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In 2022, Garfield spoke to GQ UK for its Men of the Year issue, where he opened up about the “beautiful” experience of shooting No Way Home with his fellow webslingers. 

“I got to treat it like a short film about Spider-Man with buddies,” Garfield told GQ. “The pressure was off me. It was all on Tom’s shoulders. Like, it’s his trilogy. And me and Tobey were there to provide support and have as good a time as possible, actually, and be as inventive, imaginative, and kind of dumb as possible.”

The actor added that when he was first pitched No Way Home, he wasn’t sure how his Spidey would fit into the trio. “Y’know, between the three of us, I was like, ‘Oh s—, this is going to be interesting,'” Garfield explained. “You have three people who feel real ownership over this character. But it was really, like, brotherhood first, I think. And I think that comes through in what we shot.”